For many people, climbing to the summit of Mount Everest or to Mount Everest Base Camp is on the ‘things to do before you die’ list, just like walking along the Great Wall of China is for others.
However, if you are considering booking a trip to climb up Everest, which is the most famous and highest mountain in the world, or to the Mount Everest Base Camp, then take a look at the following 10 fascinating facts about Everest.
Number One
The first people to ever climb to the summit of Mount Everest were Edmund Hillary, a New Zealand mountaineer and explorer, and Tenzing Norgay, a Nepalese Sherpa mountaineer.
They both reached the top of Mount Everest on May 29th 1953 and were climbing for just over seven weeks.
Number Two
The last year that no-one climbed to the Everest summit was way back in 1974. Every year since then, there have been mountaineers from across the world who have successfully reached the top of the mountain.
Number Three
Mount Everest is the highest mountain in the world standing at an estimated 8,848 metres tall.
The second highest is K2 (8,611 metres high), third placed is Kangchenjunga (8,586m), fourth is Lhotse (8,516m) and the fifth highest mountain in the world is the Makalu (8,485m).
Number Four
The oldest person to reach the top of Everest was Yuichiro Miura at the ripe old age of 80. The Japanese mountaineer successfully climbed Mount Everest in 2013 and he also successfully skied down 4,200 vertical feet of the mountain.
Number Five
The youngest person, however, was the 13-year-old American Jordan Romero who managed to climb Everest, also known as the ‘mother of the universe’, in May 2010.
The previous record was held by Ming Kipa of Nepal, who reached the summit when she was just 15 years old.
Number Six
Scientists and geologists believe that Everest grows taller by 4mm every year, as two opposing tectonic plates cause it to slowly rise.
Number Seven
Everest was mapped by Google in 2011. The very summit could not be mapped but a team walked over 70 miles to reach Everest Base Camp whilst taking photographs for Google Maps.
Number Eight
British climber and explorer Bear Grylls became the first man to fly higher than the top of the world in a powered paraglider when he was climbing Everest in 2007. He was also the youngest British climber to reach the Everest summit back in 1998.
Number Nine
There are two main routes to the summit of Everest: the south-east ridge from Nepal and the north ridge, which starts out in Tibet.
Number 10
The most dangerous area of the mountain is called the Khumbu ice fall.
